Committee may decide on pay raise

With approximately $72,000 allotted for Cal State Long Beach faculty raises, the CSULB Academic Senate is working on selecting a review committee that will recommend at least 50 percent of the award recipients.

The California Faculty Association contract, which is being voted on for ratification through today, has a provision for a performance salary increase.

"PSI is based on seniority as well as performance," said David Hood, Academic Senate chairman. "But out of about 1,300 faculty members, only 40 to 50 people will get the raise."

If the contract is ratified, the Academic Senate must determine the criteria and procedure for recommending who will get raises, said Dorothy Goldish, former Academic Senate chairwoman.

Even though the contract has not yet been ratified, the Academic Senate is already working on the policy to create a review committee "because we need to act on this promptly," Goldish said.

"The $72,000 must be distributed among all the colleges and the library," Goldish said at the Academic Senate meeting Thursday. "It's a real dilemma."

The proposed policy for a review committee had its first reading Thursday.

It provides for each college to elect one representative, except for the College of Liberal Arts, which may elect two.

The Academic Senate will elect two additional members in order to ensure that the committee reflects the diversity of the faculty, Hood said.

Some members expressed concern with the proposed procedures. "There are departments that have only eight members while others have 150 members," said Jack Munsee, a physics and astronomy professor.

The Academic Senate will be reconsidering the policy again on Oct. 12.